The family of Mary Habila, the 26-year-old nurse who died at the residence of David Umahi, minister of works, in Ebonyi state, has appealed to Olatunji Disu, the inspector-general of police (IGP), to intervene and order the immediate release of her body for burial.
While addressing journalists at the force headquarters in
Abuja on Friday, Kaile Yusuf, the family’s lawyer, said all procedures required
by the police to retrieve the body and proceed with burial arrangements have
been fulfilled.
Habila, an employee of the David Umahi Federal University
Teaching Hospital, died on June 27 while attached to the minister’s medical
team.
Yusuf noted that despite complying with all police
requirements for the release of her remains, but the body had remained in
official custody for nearly three weeks after her death.
“It is regrettable that, having followed all necessary
procedures by the family as required by the Nigerian Police to retrieve the
body to give her a befitting burial, having stayed long in that process,” he
said.
“Unfortunately, her body is yet to be released to the
family, which is unfortunate.”
The lawyer said the briefing was also intended to correct
what he described as misinformation about Habila’s identity and profession.
He said the deceased was a trained nurse, not a
physiotherapist as reported in some quarters.
Yusuf noted that Habila had previously worked at the David
Umahi University of Health Sciences before she was deployed to the office of
the minister of works, where she served as a civil servant for about three
years.
He added that documents, including her appointment letter
and salary records, confirmed her employment.
The lawyer said there is no justification for the continued
retention of the body and alleged that some individuals are attempting to
politicise the circumstances surrounding her death.
He said that the family had petitioned the IGP against the
Ebonyi state commissioner of police, seeking intervention to secure the
immediate release of Habila’s remains.
Yusuf also said the family had consistently rejected
requests for an autopsy, citing personal, cultural and traditional reasons.
“We are here to also ascertain the fact that the Minister
has requested time without number for the autopsy of late Mary Habila, but the
family has resolved and are determined and standing their ground not to allow
it because of some personal, cultural and traditional reasons,” he said.
“It is at this point that we want to make clear to the world
that Mary Habila has never been a runs girl or whatever, and she has been in
Abuja working with the minister before her eventful death, and this is the
truth.”
Speaking at the briefing, Tanko Habila, the deceased’s
father, made an emotional appeal for the release of his daughter’s remains.
“I don’t have much to talk in this case; all I want is the
corpse of my daughter,” he said.
“We don’t keep corpse of little children for so long like
this. So, that is why I am here again to say this once and for all, I need the
corpse of my daughter to take her for burial, that is what I am standing on.”
He said the family is not accusing anyone over Habila’s
death and noted that it had maintained a cordial relationship with her
workplace before the incident.
Also speaking, Anita Baaki, Habila’s colleague, described
her death as shocking and clarified that she was the physiotherapist, while
Habila worked as a nurse.
The family and the police remain at odds over an autopsy.
While the family opposes it on personal, cultural and
traditional grounds and says it has met all conditions for the release of the
body, the Ebonyi state police command and the minister insist a post-mortem is
necessary to establish the cause of her death.
Umahi said he directed that the body should not be released
until the autopsy is conducted.
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com